3000 Nights Closes the Festival Du Cinema Europeen in Beirut

3000 Nights Closes the Festival Du Cinema Europeen in Beirut

The 22nd Festival Du Cinema Europeen (European Film Festival) in Beirut, has selected Mai Masri's Palestinian feature film 3000 Nights to be screened at the festival's closing ceremony. Organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon in collaboration with the Embassies and Cultural Institutes of the European Union Member States, the Festival Du Cinema Europeen is held under the patronage of the Minister of Culture Raymond Arayji.

Taking place from January 25th to February 6th, the festival boasts 33 EU feature films, 4 European comedy classics, a tribute screening of a feature film by the Egyptian late star Omar Sharif and a feature film in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in addition to 12 short films produced by students of 12 Lebanese cinema schools.

The selection of 3000 Nights comes after the film's overwhelming successful screening in Nablus, Palestine which is extended for one more week till Friday, January 29th at Cinema City.

Following its US premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival in California and its screening at Sudan Independent Film Festival (SIFF), 3000 Nights is planned to expand for a wider theatrical release across further Arab countries during this month.

On October 31st, Mai Masri's film 3000 Nights won the Meeting Point Audience Award at the 60th Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain where the audience rated the film 4.297 out of 5. In an official statement the festival acknowledged that the film "received the warmest acclaim from the audience". In less than one week following this, 3000 Nights received the Jury Award at the 8th Women's International Film and Television Showcase (The WIFTS), USA.

Since the film's world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, 3000 Nights has been well received in film events. The film competed at Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and had a full-house screening at BFI London Film Festival.

A Palestinian co-production between France, Jordan, UAE, Qatar and Lebanon, 3000 Nights stars MaisaAbdelhadi and Nadera Omran. The film tells the story of a young Palestinian school teacher gives birth to her son in an Israeli prison where she fights to protect him, survive and maintain hope.

MAD Solutions is in charge of the international distribution of the film and May Odeh handles the Palestinian.

Mai Masri is a Palestinian filmmaker. She studied film at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University (USA) where she graduated with a BA degree. Her filmography includes; Under the Rubble(1983), Wild Flowers: Women of South Lebanon (1986), War Generation Beirut (1998), Children of Fire (1990), Suspended Dreams (1992), Children of Shatila (1998), Hanan Ashrawi: A Woman of her Time (1995), Frontiers of Dreams and Fears (2001), Beirut Diaries: Truth, Lies and Videos (2006) and 33 Days (2007).